In 2012 Washingtonians voted to legalize marijuana usage by 12 points. Now voters in the state say they support marijuana being legal by 19 points, 56 percent to 37 percent.

More than three fourths of voters say marijuana being legal has either had a positive impact on their life or no impact at all, with only 22 percent claiming marijuana legalization has affected them negatively.

Eighty-one percent of respondents, including super-majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, expressed support for legalizing marijuana for medical treatment. The result is an increase of seven percentage points since Harris pollsters last posed the question in 2011.

Forty-nine percent of respondents said that they believed cannabis should be legal recreationally (up from 42 percent in 2011).

Majorities of Democrats (58 percent) and Independents (55 percent) backed legalization, but only 27 percent of Republicans did so.

A majority of Republicans (51 percent) acknowledged that marijuana policy should be decided at the state level and not by the federal government. Forty-seven percent of Independents, but only 37 percent of Democrats, shared this position.

More than 80 percent of US adults favor legalizing cannabis for therapeutic purposes, according to the results of a nationwide Harris poll.

Eighty-one percent of respondents, including super-majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, expressed support for legalizing marijuana for medical treatment. The result is an increase of seven percentage points since Harris pollsters last posed the question in 2011.

Forty-nine percent of respondents said that they believed cannabis should be legal recreationally (up from 42 percent in 2011). Majorities of Democrats (58 percent) and Independents (55 percent) backed legalization, but only 27 percent of Republicans did so. Several other recent polls, including those commissioned by the Pew Research Center, Fox News, and the General Social Survey, have shown majority support for the adult regulation of marijuana.

A majority of Republicans (51 percent) acknowledged that marijuana policy should be decided at the state level and not by the federal government. Forty-seven percent of Independents, but only 37 percent of Democrats, shared this position.

Public opinion on legalizing pot has shifted over the last few years, and has changed dramatically since 1979 when CBS News first asked about it. Back then, just 27 percent said marijuana use should be legal. As recently as 2011, a majority of Americans opposed legalized pot use.

A majority of men favor marijuana legalization, while women are split. Younger Americans are especially likely to support legal marijuana use. There are partisan differences too: most Democrats think marijuana use should be legal, while most Republicans do not.

The percentage of Americans who say they have personally tried marijuana has grown since 1997, when CBS News last asked the question. Back then, just a third (34 percent) of Americans said they tried marijuana, but that percentage has risen to 43 percent today.

Just last week, Pew Research Center found the identical amount of support as CBS. In 2013, Gallup found 58 percent of Americans supported legalizing marijuana — a 10-point surge from the year prior — but in 2014, the organization found a sharp drop in that support, to 51 percent. A report released last month by the Democratic-affiliated Benenson Strategy Group and SKDKnickerbocker found 61 percent of Americans in favor of legalization — some of the highest support for marijuana legalization to date. Earlier this year, General Social Survey, widely regarded as the most authoritative source when it comes to researching public opinion, found 52 percent of Americans in support of legalization.

By a large margin, Americans also believe that marijuana is safer than alcohol — 51 percent of those surveyed said alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana, while only 12 percent believe marijuana is the more high-risk drug, according to the CBS Poll.

A survey released last month by NBC News/The Wall Street Journal found that Americans believe that even sugar is more harmful than cannabis.

While not harmless, marijuana is dramatically less dangerous than other recreational drugs and may be, in fact, the least dangerous among the most commonly used recreational drugs, according to a study published this year in Scientific Reports.

To date, 23 states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, and four states, along with the District of Columbia, have legalized recreational use. Still, the federal government continues to ban the plant, classifying it as one of the “most dangerous”drugs alongside heroin and LSD.

Fifty-eight percent of U.S. adults say recreational marijuana will be legal nationwide in the next 20 years, according to a new Bloomberg Politics poll. That includes 13 percent who say it will take 20 years, 26 percent who say it will take 10 years, 17 percent who say it’s just five years away, and two percent who say it will happen in the next year.

“Our civilization can’t look away from the fact that [marijuana] is not bad and the only reason we don’t have it is because of the archaic mentality,” said Dakota Daniels, a 21- year-old waiter from Pueblo, Colorado, who participated in the poll. He said he thinks people will embrace regulation — as opposed to bans — as Colorado did in 2012, because it allows states to set safety standards and reap tax revenue.

Not everyone is convinced that legal recreational weed is a foregone conclusion. Thirty-two percent said recreational marijuana will never be legal in all 50 states.

“There’s so many people that have seen what drugs and alcohol have done to their families that I don’t think it will ever ever ever be legalized in this country,” said Chris Harmon, 42, a sales rep in New Philadelphia, Ohio.

“Once you let that in, there’s a slippery slope to that next exit ramp,” said Harmon, a Republican.

Four states — Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska — have legalized the recreational use of pot. Nevada voters will decide whether to legalize the drug in 2016, and voters in Maine, Massachusetts, Arizona, and California are poised to follow suit. California, the nation’s most populous state, could prove a tipping point.

“A lot of eyes are on California,” Gavin Newsom, the state’s Democratic lieutenant governor and a supporter of legalization, recently told Bloomberg. “It’s very different than almost any other state because of the scale and the magnitude of the change and what it will represent across the country.”

Daniels said he thinks Americans no longer fear of the drug. “This whole ‘reefer madness’ mentality is being proven wrong,” he said.

The poll was conducted April 6-8 by Selzer & Co. of West Des Moines, Iowa, among 1,008 adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Read the full poll questions and methodology here.

Peter Lomonaco, co-founder of the Alaska Cannabis Club, prepares a joint at the medical marijuana dispensary in Anchorage, Alaska. On Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, Alaska became the third state in the nation to legalize marijuana. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

By Christopher Ingraham

In three key swing states, marijuana legalization is more popular than any potential 2016 presidential contender. That’s according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted in March.

More than 80 percent of adults in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida support medical marijuana, according to the survey. Fifty one percent of Pennsylvanians, 52 percent of Ohioans and 55 percent of Floridians also support legalizing small amounts of marijuana for personal use.

Recreational weed is polling just a hair better than Hillary Clinton in all three states — she’s currently pulling favorability numbers in the high-40s, low-50s range.

And marijuana is considerably more popular than any of the major Republican candidates. In Ohio, for instance, recreational marijuana outpolls Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz by more than two-to-one. In Pennsylvania, medical marijuana is more than three times more popular than Jeb Bush. Home-state favorites Bush and Rubio poll better in Florida, but they’re still running 8 to 13 points behind recreational marijuana.

Granted, I’m employing some sleight-of-hand here. Marijuana legalization is an issue and candidates are people. You can’t really compare them in an apples-to-apples way like this.

Still, though, the numbers illustrate two facts: the continued support for liberalizing marijuana laws, and the ambiguity around presidential candidates that you’d expect more than a year out from the election — after all, Darth Vader was polling better than the 2016 field as of last year.

Another important point: on marijuana in particular, high polling numbers don’t necessarily translate into election victories. In Florida, for instance, 88 percent of voters said they supported medical marijuana last July. But the state’s constitutional amendment to allow medical marijuana failed to gather the 60 percent support it needed to become law last November .

Medical marijuana proponents are already working to put the issue back on the Florida ballot in 2016, when the electorate will likely be younger and more liberal — perhaps just enough to push it over that 60 percent threshold. A group in Ohio wants to put full marijuana legalization before voters this November. And marijuana will likely show up on the ballot in at least six other states in 2016, including California, Nevada and Arizona.

All of which adds up to the fact that marijuana will be a mainstream election issue that 2016 candidates will need to grapple with, according to John Hudak of the Brookings Institution. Some Republicans are eager to frame the topic as a states-rights issue, while others, like Rand Paul, approach it from the standpoint of criminal justice reform and fiscal responsibility. Democrats can capitalize on the issue to reach out to their young voter base and engage them on questions of social and racial justice.

Overall, Hudak concludes that “in some ways marijuana policy is the perfect issue for a presidential campaign. It has far reaching consequences that both parties have reason to engage.” While it won’t rise to the level of a litmus test issue for most voters, candidates won’t be able to avoid talking about it — or they’ll do so at their own peril.
Christopher Ingraham writes about politics, drug policy and all things data. He previously worked at the Brookings Institution and the Pew Research Center.

In three key swing states, marijuana legalization is more popular than any potential 2016 presidential contender. That’s according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted in March.

More than 80 percent of adults in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida support medical marijuana, according to the survey. Fifty one percent of Pennsylvanians, 52 percent of Ohioans and 55 percent of Floridians also support legalizing small amounts of marijuana for personal use.

Recreational weed is polling just a hair better than Hillary Clinton in all three states — she’s currently pulling favorability numbers in the high-40s, low-50s range. And marijuana is considerably more popular than any of the major Republican candidates. In Ohio, for instance, recreational marijuana outpolls Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz by more than two-to-one. In Pennsylvania, medical marijuana is more than three times more popular than Jeb Bush. Home-state favorites Bush and Rubio poll better in Florida, but they’re still running 8 to 13 points behind recreational marijuana.

Granted, I’m employing some sleight-of-hand here. Marijuana legalization is an issue and candidates are people. You can’t really compare them in an apples-to-apples way like this.

Still, though, the numbers illustrate two facts: the continued support for liberalizing marijuana laws, and the ambiguity around presidential candidates that you’d expect more than a year out from the election — after all, Darth Vader was polling better than the 2016 field as of last year.

Another important point: on marijuana in particular, high polling numbers don’t necessarily translate into election victories. In Florida, for instance, 88 percent of voters said they supported medical marijuana last July. But the state’s constitutional amendment to allow medical marijuana failed to gather the 60 percent support it needed to become law last November .

Medical marijuana proponents are already working to put the issue back on the Florida ballot in 2016, when the electorate will likely be younger and more liberal — perhaps just enough to push it over that 60 percent threshold. A group in Ohio wants to put full marijuana legalization before voters this November. And marijuana will likely show up on the ballot in at least six other states in 2016, including California, Nevada and Arizona.

All of which adds up to the fact that marijuana will be a mainstream election issue that 2016 candidates will need to grapple with, according to John Hudak of the Brookings Institution. Some Republicans are eager to frame the topic as a states-rights issue, while others, like Rand Paul, approach it from the standpoint of criminal justice reform and fiscal responsibility. Democrats can capitalize on the issue to reach out to their young voter base and engage them on questions of social and racial justice.

Overall, Hudak concludes that “in some ways marijuana policy is the perfect issue for a presidential campaign. It has far reaching consequences that both parties have reason to engage.” While it won’t rise to the level of a litmus test issue for most voters, candidates won’t be able to avoid talking about it — or they’ll do so at their own peril.

Former U.S. Marine Sgt. Ryan Begin smokes medical marijuana at his home in Belfast, Maine. Begin had endured 35 surgeries after having his right elbow blown off by a roadside bomb in 2004. He is a proponent of legalizing pot for recreational use and allowing individual citizens the right to grow six plants. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty/ 2014)

Six out of ten U.S. voters support allowing state regulated sales of marijuana across the country, according to a newly released poll by Benenson Strategy Group BSG. That beats the previous benchmark of 58 percent supporting legalization in a 2013 poll by Gallup.

Predictably, the number of registered voters who go along with lowering the punishment for possession of marijuana, known as deccriminalization, is even higher.

“In our latest poll, groups across all major demographics agree (72 percent) that punishment for possession of small amounts of marijuana should be reduced from arrest and possible jail time to fines of $25 to $100,” reports Beneson. “Even among Republicans (68 percent) and conservatives (63 percent), most support lowering the punishment for possession.”

Republicans were practically split with 48 percent who agree versus 52 percent who disagree with legalization.

Conservatives are also just five points shy of being split on the issue with 45 percent who agree and 55 percent who disagree.

Republicans and conservatives are the main groups opposed to changing marijuana laws, the firm states.

In 2014, Florida’s Amendment 2 to legalize medical marijuana earned 58 percent of the vote but failed to reach the 60 percent threshold needed to pass.

Exit polls showed the amendment’s only opposition came from voters who were Republican (yes 40 percent; no 60 percent), conservative (yes 37 percent; no 63 percent), and over the age of sixty-five (yes 38 percent; no 62 percent).

“Similarly, in our study, Republican and conservative voters were also the only demographic groups that opposed making state-regulated sale of marijuana legal as seen by the results above. ”

Other surveys support the general thesis that support for legalization or decriminalization of cannabis is growing.

In early March, the General Social Survey, an authoritative study of public opinion, determined that 52 percent of American support marijuana legalization– up 9 points since 2012.

A Pew survey in October 2014 also showed a 52 percent rate of support for legalization.

Benenson Strategy Group (BSG) isa top strategic research consultancy with U.S. offices in New York, Washington D.C., and Denver.

The fate of Amendment 2, which would expand medical marijuana use in the Sunshine State, looks like an even closer contest than before in the latest statewide poll, according to Sunshine State News.

WFLA-TV Tampa and Survey USA released a poll of likely voters this week that shows only 51 percent plan to vote for Amendment 2.

A third of those surveyed — 33 percent — plan to vote against it while the remainder are undecided.

The poll was taken last week. It showed support for Amendment 2 stood at 52 percent while opposition was 33 percent. Previous WFLA/Survey USA polls from September showed Amendment 2 losing steam as it dropped from a high of 56 percent. To pass on the November ballot, 60 percent of voters need to support the measure. Based on six statewide polls conducted last month, 57.1 percent said they favor the marijuana measure, while just under 30 percent said they oppose it. A significant 12.8 percent said they were undecided, according to the News-Press of Fort Myers.

The newspaper noted advocates need only convince about one in four undecideds to clear the 60 percent threshold.

A new poll shows that Amendment 2, Use of Marijuana for Certain Medical Conditions, in potentially in danger of losing, reports Jon Walker of Just Say Now.

The most recent SurveyUSA poll found 53 percent of likely voters in the state are planning on voting yes, 32 percent plan on voting no and 15 percent are still undecided. This is a small drop since their poll earlier this month which put the measure at 56 percent yes to 31 percent no.

Support is strongest among young people and weakest among older voters, but at least a plurality in every age group supports medical marijuana.

Normally, that would be good enough but Florida’s unusual ballot measure laws require all amendments to get a super-majority of over 60 percent to be approved, Walker notes.

A fresh poll shows Washington, D.C., voters are ready to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

The NBC4/Washington Post/Marist poll’s finding that district voters support legalization by almost a 2-1 margin “is the highest support ever for a marijuana legalization ballot initiative,” Adam Eidinger, chair of D.C. Cannabis Campaign, the group backing the legalization measure, said in a statement. “It vindicates the work of this campaign so far, but we still have more work to do turning out the vote come Election Day.”

On Nov. 4, D.C. voters will decide Initiative 71, which would legalize adult marijuana use, possession of up to two ounces, and home cultivation of up to six marijuana plants for personal use. The sale of marijuana would remain illegal. The D.C. Council is considering a separate bill that would allow the regulation and taxation of marijuana.

At the same time, those polled expressed a more urgent desire for the government to do more to curtail serious crime.

Angus Reid Global surveyed 1,510 Canadian adults and found that 59 per cent of respondents supported legalizing marijuana, while 41 per cent opposed it. Sixty-three percent of those polled also favored “tougher penalties for those found guilty of serious crimes.”

Men were slightly more supportive of legalization than women. Support was strongest in British Columbia, at 70 percent. Atlantic Canada came in nearly as strongly at 68 percent in favor of legalizing. Support was weakest in Alberta and Quebec where support came in at 53 percent.